2. Family charge Kadeer with organizing riots Family members of RebiyaKadeer(热比娅·卡德尔) have asked her not to organize violence or undermine the peaceful life in Xinjiang, in letters made public on Monday. They blamed her for organizing the riot in Urumqi on July 5 and apologized to the victims in two separate letters. Kadeer's son, daughter and younger brother wrote a letter to her, expressing their discontent for her betrayal of promises not taking part in separatist activities and voicing their moral indignity over the riot. "Because of you, so many innocent people lost their lives in Urumqi on July 5, and so many houses, shops and vehicles were burnt or damaged," they wrote. "The harmony and unity among ethnic groups were undermined."
3. China seals off town amid plague outbreak Officials link 2 deaths to infectious disease caused by Black Death bacteria A second man has died of pneumonic plague in northwest China, in an outbreak that prompted authorities to lock down a town where about a dozen people were infected with the highly contagious deadly lung disease. The man who died Sunday was a neighbor of the first person who died, a 32-year-old herdsman. Another 10 people, mostly relatives of the first deceased man, were infected and undergoing isolated treatment in hospital. The town of 10,000 people has been sealed off and a team of experts was sent to the area, the local health bureau said Sunday, warning that anyone with a cough or fever who visited the town since mid-July should seek treatment at a hospital.
4. Russia's Putin dives for gas crystals in deepest lake Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin plunged into the depths of Lake Baikal aboard a mini-submersible on Saturday in a mission that adds a new dimension to his macho image. Scientists estimate Baikal hydrates contain over 1 trillion cubic metres of natural gas, an amount comparable with the world's largest discovered gas fields. Mineral extraction is banned in Lake Baikal which is a nature reserve. "I haven't seen anything like that in my whole life. This is a very special feeling,"
5. Pentagon eyes accelerated "bunker buster" bomb The Pentagon is seeking to speed deployment of an ultra-large "bunker-buster" bomb on the most advanced U.S. bomber as soon as July 2010, the Air Force said on Sunday, amid concerns over perceived nuclear threats from Democratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK) and Iran. The non-nuclear, 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, which is still being tested, is designed to destroy deeply buried bunkers beyond the reach of existing bombs. * Bomb could be ready for B-2 bomber by July 2010.* Would deliver 10 times explosive power of predecessor.* It is designed to penetrate up to 200 feet (61 metres) underground before exploding.
